In this episode of Smarter Cars,
we discuss with Adam Thierer the role of government in regulating
autonomous vehicles. Should regulators allow “permissionless
innovation” or enact rules that require government pre-approval
before cars can be deployed? What role should NHTSA play when the
technology is still developing and it’s not clear what the right
rules will be? How might voluntary guidance from NHTSA work in
practice? Adam shares his views on how government can protect
public safety while also permitting a nascent industry to develop
without stifling innovation.

Adam is a
Senior Research Fellow with the Technology Policy Program at the
Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His writings have
appeared in the Wall Street
Journal, the Economist, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and Forbes, and he has appeared on
national television and radio. Adam has authored or edited eight
books on topics ranging from media regulation and child safety
issues to the role of federalism in high-technology markets. His
latest book is Permissionless
Innovation: The Continuing Case for Comprehensive Technological
Freedom. He also contributes to the Technology Liberation Front, a
leading tech policy blog.

About the Podcast

Smarter Cars is a podcast about autonomous vehicles. We’re interviewing key players about the challenges of bringing autonomous vehicles to market, including current thinking about deep learning, policy/regulation, business models, ethics, and the impact on social welfare, economics, cities and the future of how we live and work.